Volusia approves $20 million for One Daytona

Thursday

Apr 3, 2014 at 11:20 AMApr 3, 2014 at 4:33 PM

By Andrew Gantandrew.gant@news-jrnl.com

DELAND — A $20 million contribution from Volusia County to One Daytona, part of a roughly $1 billion plan for development and construction at and around Daytona International Speedway, won a final 6-0 County Council vote on Thursday morning, marking the end of an intense Speedway campaign to win partial public financing for a project it says will dramatically change Daytona Beach.The vote, attended by the project’s influential supporters including the France family, Atlanta developer Jim Jacoby, former Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President John Johnson, was the final step toward securing roughly $44.5 million in public investment from the county and city.“It will make this a better place for all of us to live, work and play,” Ritchey said during the meeting. “This will be a linchpin project.It will give others that have been on the sidelines a reason to get started, and start quickly.”International Speedway Corp. CEO and vice chairwoman Lesa France Kennedy told the council: “I appreciate your leadership and vision for Volusia County.”The money had previously been approved in concept and faced only final approval with some added contractual language.The Daytona Beach City Commission also gave the project unanimous support, but its contribution hinged on Thursday’s approval from the county.County Councilman Doug Daniels, who was the lone “no” in the council’s 5-1 vote last month, still had reservations but said he was “voting on faith.” He said he drove to the council meeting with the intention of voting no once again.“I got a call from a friend of mine, and she reminded me that Lesa France Kennedy was the one behind this,” Daniels said. “And Lesa, when we met, she told me she wanted to do something for her town, something to put it on the map.”He added: “It’s not this agreement I have faith in, I have no faith in it at all. Lesa, I’m putting my faith in you.”The rest of the council and county staff painted a starkly different picture of the $20 million grant structure, arguing it protects the county and ensures the money will actually pay for infrastructure that’s open to the public.“I think that people who cut ribbons should also cut checks,” County Manager Jim Dinneen said, arguing that the deal won’t burden future councils with large debt. The county is funding the $20 million with $5 million in reserves, then borrowing $15 million against sales tax revenues. “I’m very proud of the recommendation I made on the financial side,” Dinneen said. “I think it reflects what the collective asked me to do, and that’s my job.”County Chair Jason Davis was absent Thursday but voted yes previously. He was hospitalized Wednesday with a heart condition similar to one he experienced in 2011 but was back at home resting Thursday and said his prognosis was good and there was no damage to his heart.Speedway officials had been campaigning to build broad support for the project, which they say will create more than 14,000 permanent jobs (including spin-offs) and $1 billion a year in economic impact.The first $289 million phase of One Daytona is projected to create 3,000 direct jobs with an average salary of $25,000.Volusia’s money would pay for infrastructure that, under the terms of the agreement, must remain open to the public even though it’s on the developers’ property.The developers, a team of ISC and the Atlanta-based Jacoby Group, project the new retail, restaurant and entertainment space will generate more than $165 million in added sales tax revenue over 30 years.The $20 million will go to the developers in two parts: An initial $12 million payment followed by $8 million once construction starts on a parking garage.Volusia’s agreement also requires the city’s investment to be larger than the county’s. If the city’s deal somehow winds up paying less than $20 million, the county would get back the difference.The Volusia contract also says the county gets its money back if the project is never completed — or half its money back if 55 percent of One Daytona’s commercial tenants by January 2017 aren’t new to the area.The developers are hoping to have phase one open in 2016, coinciding with the $400 million Daytona Rising renovation of the Speedway into a racing megastadium.One voice rose against the county’s grant from Morton Culligan of DeBary, a harsh critic of government funding for corporations and non-profits. He brought his current tax bill and asked if he should just make out a check to Jacoby or the Speedway.Councilwoman Pat Northey said the west side of the county has been skeptical of so much money going to another east-side project. “I’ve had people over here who wanted to secede from Volusia County because they just didn’t understand the deal,” she said.An east-side resident, John Nicholson of Daytona Beach, said the money is a wise investment and essentially a sure bet. “Yes, $20 million is a lot of money,” he said. “But you’re giving it in terms of streets, parking, things that are public things. I understand the concept that it takes money to make money.”Daniels, an attorney, favored a tax-increment structure like a Community Redevelopment Area and said the county’s agreement was legally vague and difficult or impossible to enforce. He said the county should have hired a financial adviser to put together the deal.“It’s pretty vague, it’s not very well drafted, it’s the sort of thing that if you’ve been practicing law for a while you really don’t like to see,” he argued. “Particularly in a $20 million deal, it probably would not pass muster in the standard of practice in Volusia County.” He jokingly asked the developer, “Please don’t show it to your guy in Atlanta.”Aside from Daniels, everyone on the council spoke highly of the deal. “As many protections as we could have put into this, we did,” Northey said. “Who would’ve thought this time last year in Volusia County we’d be discussing this?” said Deb Denys. “That we’d already have Trader Joe’s coming? That all these projects are on the horizon?”Councilwoman Joyce Cusack told Kennedy: “It’s not about us, it’s about generations to come. You will make them remember that you were once here.”The council actually voted twice on the grant -- initially forgetting to hear public comment before the vote. It held a do-over. “It’s such a great project that I’m going to go ahead and vote on it twice,” Councilman Josh Wagner said.The final vote was followed by high-fiving and celebration in the back of council chambers.